Embedding a unique serial number into the content of an email for tracking information dispersion

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses a solution for tracking email dispersion through content substitution. In the solution, a set of entities to receive an email can be identified, where the email can contains textual content. A subset of words contained within the textual content can be programmatically selected. A set of replacement words for each of the determined words can be determined. For each email receiving entity, at least one replacement word can be programmatically substituted for it&#39;s equivalent to generate an entity specific message. Each entity specific message can contain a unique combination of substitutions so that no two entity specific message are identical. A record of which email receiving entities are associated with which entity specific message can be maintained. The entity specific messages can be sent to the associated set of email receiving entities.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of email tracking and, moreparticularly, to embedding a unique serial number into the content of anemail for tracking information dispersion.

2. Description of the Related Art

In business today, email is commonly used to communicate with abusiness' employees. Often these emails contain sensitive informationthat is not intended for public consumption. Many problems could arisefor a business if such sensitive information was leaked. For example, anemail could contain information regarding a new line of products indevelopment by the company. If this information was leaked to acompetitor for example, this could give the competitor the chance tocome up with a better product before the product is even released.

Currently, protection exists to keep a user from copying sensitiveinformation, but these protections can easily be circumvented. Forexample, a user can take screenshots of the information, or copy them toa USB drive to prevent firewall based tracking. The user can thendisperse the sensitive information to whoever they want. There arecurrently solutions for tracking down such information leaks. Forexample, one such solution is called a “canary trap” where the contentscan be modified in each email and sent to a unique user, associating arevision of the content with the recipient user. When a leak occurs, theleaked text can be referenced to the user to find the source of theleak. The problem with implementing such a system is that a user has tomanually do these modifications and track the changes with theirassociated users. This kind of implementation becomes very troublesomewith a large number of recipient users. A more intuitive solution isrequired to track information dispersion in emails.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention can allow for embedding a unique serial numberinto the content of an email for tracking information dispersion. Thiscan allow a similar solution such as a “canary trap” to work on a muchlarger scale to track information dispersion. The present invention canallow the email author to build a serial number system into their email.A serial number can be embedded into email content by strategicallychanging words in the email content with synonyms. Each word replacementcan have an associated bit flag or value. When all of the textreplacements are processed together, their associated value or bit flagcan create a unique serial number. In one embodiment, the replacementscan occur at the client-side based upon substitutions defined in aunique, possibly encrypted header that is included with each sentmessage. When a leak occurs, the author can input the leaked text andthe application can return the serial number for that revision. Thedisclosed invention can also allow the option to build in redundancychecking in the event a portion of the document is quoted. This alsoallows for the assignment of a serial number based on department. Thiscan prevent two users from noticing a difference between emails sent tothem and someone else in their department. The serial number can alsoinclude a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Code) number or modulus check. This canprevent a recipient from noticing the serial number and attempting tochange the number and potentially picking the wrong person as the sourceof the leak.

Another aspect of the present invention can include a user interface forconfiguring the embedded serial numbers and tracking them. One such userinterface can allow a user to establish and identify interchangeablewords in the email. Synonyms for these interchangeable words can beretrieved from a thesaurus and displayed for the user, which can allowthe user to select which words to use for substitution. The presentinvention can also allow for random generation of email content withembedded serial numbers. A user can preview the generated revisions ofthe email content with embedded serial numbers for clarity, to make surethe initial content is still intact, before assigning each revision to adepartment, user, company, or the like. Serial numbers and thereforerevisions of the email can be assigned to any distinguishable entity fortracking information dispersion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

There are shown in the drawings, embodiments which are presentlypreferred, it being understood, however, that the invention is notlimited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for embedding a unique serialnumber into the content of an email for tracking information dispersionin accordance with an embodiment of the inventive arrangements disclosedherein.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system of sample user interfaces for embedding aunique serial number into the content of an email for trackinginformation dispersion in accordance with an embodiment of the inventivearrangements disclosed herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates a system of sample user interfaces for embedding aunique serial number into the content of an email for trackinginformation dispersion in accordance with an embodiment of the inventivearrangements disclosed herein.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method for embedding a unique serial numberinto the content of an email for tracking information dispersion inaccordance with an embodiment of the inventive arrangements disclosedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system 100 for embedding a uniqueserial number into the content of an email for tracking informationdispersion in accordance with an embodiment of the inventivearrangements disclosed herein. In system 100, user 102 can generate aseries of emails 120 to be sent to recipient users 104, 106, 108, 109with embedded serial numbers for tracking information dispersion. Theserial number can be hidden in email content through a series ofequivalent word substitutions. User 102 can interact with an emailclient running on computing device 110 to create the emails to be sent.Computing device 110 can interact with mail server 150 through network140 to send emails 120. Emails 120 can be sent as emails 122, 124, 126,and 128 to user 104, 106, 109, and 108. Each email 122-128 can include aunique serial number that can identify the recipient of the email. Users104, 106, 108, and 109 can use client 112, 114, 116, and 118respectively to receive their associated email. If any user 104, 106,108, or 109 were to share the content of a received email 122, 124, 126,or 128, the content of the email could be used to detect the source ofthe leak. The serial number can be retrieved from the leaked email,which would be associated with the recipient user that caused theinformation leak.

Further, the mail server 150 can include a tracking and automaticdiscovery capability, which makes detecting a leak source easier. Theautomatic discovery capability can permit content from a breechedmessage (e.g., unique content from message 122-128 that includes message122-128 specific substitutions) to be fed into the server 150, whichautomatically returns a unique serial number associated with thebreeched message and/or an identity of a user 104-109 associated withthat serial number/breeched message.

In one embodiment, the actual content of a body of email 120 can beidentical to the body content of each email 122-126 sent to the set ofusers 104-109. The unique serial number and/or word substitutions can bedefined in an email 120 header, which is unique for each end-user104-109. That is, a client-side program can use the header information,which can be encrypted, to generate a unique set of synonymsubstitutions. The client-side substitutions can be made before theemail content is rendered to an associated user 104-109. Client-sidesubstitutions has a benefit of minimizing an additional load imposedupon mail server 150, which would otherwise have to handle a uniqueemail message 122-128 for each recipient (users 104-109).

Additionally, use of headers and client-side substitutions ensures thatwhen another user is viewing messages 122-128 in a shared system, noextra substitution related overhead in incurred. For example, on afactory floor, a kiosk system can exist for users to log in and read anelectronic bulletin board using a common machine. In such instances, thelogin of a user can define the user and a unique user-specific headerused to perform substitutions. The bulletin board itself needs tocontain only one message, which changes when another user logs into thekiosk system to read the message.

Computing device 110 can be any computing device capable of running anemail client with extended functionalities for embedding a serial numberor numbers into email content for tracking information dispersion.Computing device 110 can run an application to generate emails 120 andconvey them to mail server 150 via network 140. The computing device 110can be any computing device capable of reproducing the describedfunctionality including, but not limited to, a laptop computer, a cellphone, a personal data assistant (PDA), a desktop computer, or the like.

Mail server 150 can be a computing device setup to receive incoming mailmessages and transmit them to their intended recipients. In system 100,mail server 150 can receive emails 120 via network 140 and disperse themto their recipients as email 122, 124, 126, and 128. The mail server 150can also be a bulletin board server, a BLOG server, and the like, wherea unique content object can be a bulletin board message, a BLOG entry,and the like instead of an email message 122-128, as illustrated. Mailserver 150 can be implemented in any way, including, but not limited to,a server computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, and the like.

Emails 122, 124, 126, and 128 can be serial embedded email messagesintended for users 104, 106, 109, and 108 respectively. Each email canhave a unique serial number embedded in its content to uniquely identifythe source of the content. Words can be strategically replaced to createthe embedded serial number. This can make the content in each email tobe different, but still contain the same content. For example, words canbe replaced with synonyms to keep the meaning of the content at leastrelatively the same. The emails 122, 124, 126, and 128 can be used totrack the dispersion of the information contained in the emails.

Clients 112, 114, 116, and 118 can be used by user 104, 106, 108, and109 to receive each email 122, 124, 126, and 128 respectively. Clients112-118 can be any computing device equipped with a transceiver capableof communications via network 140 and capable of running an email clientfor receiving email. Clients 112-118 can be any computing device,including, but not limited to, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, acell phone, a personal data assistant (PDA), or the like.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system 200 of sample user interfaces for embeddinga unique serial number into the content of an email for trackinginformation dispersion in accordance with an embodiment of the inventivearrangements disclosed herein. In system 200, email client 205 can be aninterface of an email client which can allow the creation of an email.Email client 205 can include button 208, which can initiate the processof embedding a serial number or numbers into the created email. Emailclient 205 can include standard fields 206 and content 210. Button 208can be any GUI option that can allow for the initiation of the serialnumber embedding process. For example, button 208 can be a button, menuoption, key combination, or the like. Standard fields 206 can includeto, carbon copy (cc), blind carbon copy (bcc), subject, and the like.Content 210 can be the email content in which a serial number or numbersare to be embedded into. Email client 205 can be used to initiate theprocess of embedding serial numbers into email content to trackinginformation dispersion. Dispersion tracking configuration 250 can beshown after button 208 has been activated. Dispersion trackingconfiguration 250 can allow for initial settings to be configured beforeembedding the serial number or numbers into the email content.Dispersion tracking configuration 250 can include options such as serialnumber type 252, number of serials to embed 254, serial checking 256,and option 258. Email client 205 and dispersion tracking configuration250 can be run on a computing device in context with computing device110 in system 100.

Dispersion tracking configuration 250 can allow for the initialconfiguration of the process of embedding a serial number or numbersinto email content 210. Dispersion tracking configuration 250 caninclude field serial number type 252. Serial number type 252 can includemany options, including, but not limited to, a predefined number ofserial numbers to embed, a range for each serial number, serial numbersthat are linked to identifiable items such as employee ID or domain ID,and the like. Number of serials to embed 254 can be a field in which canshow the detected number of serial numbers to embed depending on theoption selected for serial number type 252. In the case that serialnumber type 252 is selected to be a predefined number of serial numbers,number of serials to embed 254 can be used to specify the number ofserial numbers to embed. Serial checking 256 can be a field that canallow a user to specify whether to add cyclic redundancy checking,modulus, or no checking for the embedded serial. Option 258 can allowthe user to specify whether to just give the user the options to choosewhich synonyms to replace words on email content 210 with or to allowthe application to randomly generate revisions of email content 210 withwords it sees fitting to generate the number of revisions matching therequired serial numbers.

FIG. 3 illustrates a system 300 of sample user interfaces for embeddinga unique serial number into the content of an email for trackinginformation dispersion in accordance with an embodiment of the inventivearrangements disclosed herein. In system 300, information dispersiontracking configuration 305 can be an interface used to define whichwords are to be replaced and by what words to embed a unique serialnumber. Content area 311 can show the email content and can displaywords that are replaceable differently.

In this example, words that are replaceable are displayed in bold,however the current invention can allow for any alternate display ofreplaceable words. A user can select a word to replace, which can allowpossible word replacements 312 to be populated with synonyms of theselected word that can be possible substitutions. For example, word 310can be highlighted after being selected, which can cause possible wordreplacements 312 to populate with synonyms of word 310. This can allow auser to select preferred substitutions. For example, words 314 can beselected as preferred substitutions for word 310. System 300 alsoincludes replacement preview interface 350, which can be an interfacethat can be used to preview email content replacements before they'reused. In this example, content 352 can be associated with checkbox 354,content 356 can be associated with 358, content 360 can be associatedwith checkbox 362, and content 364 can be associated with checkbox 366.In this example, a user can either check or uncheck a checkbox 354, 358,362, 366 to approve or disapprove of the associated content.

It should be noted that system 300 represents an overly simplisticsubstitution scheme presented to illustrate the concepts of theinvention. In most real world implementations, multiple words subject tosubstitution will be identified within an email body (instead of one asshown) and multiple different substitutions/replacement words willexist. A unique number (e.g., the serial number) can beassigned/generated to represent a set of unique word replacements.Storing/tracking unique serial numbers simplifies a management of alarge number of email messages, each having a unique substitution set ofwords. Additionally, in one embodiment, substitutions can be performedclient-side as defined by a header, as previously mentioned.

To illustrate by another example, the following table shows areplacement set of words for message 311. The table lists each originalword, a replacement word, and a word location within the message.

Original Word Replacement Word Word Location we IBM team members 6dedicated committed 9 drove lead 30 increased exceeded 48 acquiringpurchasing 52Assuming header defined substitutions, a header for the above table canbe:

-   -   X-WordList1:UserID,None,IBM team members, 6, committed, 9, lead,        30, exceeded, 48, purchasing, 52.        This header follows a convention of:    -   X-WordListn: SerialType, CRCChecking, Text, WordLocation, . . .        Text-n, WordLocation-n

X-WordListn can be a mail header, where n can be a header number that isa sequential number based upon a number of serial numbers to process.

SerialType can be set to “UserID” or “DomainID.” The SerialType can tella client what serial number the header relates to.

CRCChecking can be set to “None,” “CRC,” or “Modulus-11”. This tells theclient if the serial number has CRC or modulus checking to ensure thenumber isn't tampered with when converted to a serial number. If set tonone then the serial number isn't modified.

Text, WordLocation specifies the replacement text and the word locationthat has to be replaced. The placement of the word specifies the bitflag it relates to. The first in the list relates to the right most bitflag and moves to the left on the next replacement word. If thereplacement is a punctuation character then the character will beescaped out. For example, “\,” can be used for a comma and “\\” can beused for a back slash.

In one arrangement, once headers are created they can be encrypted witha key that only the client can decrypt. The body of the text can also beencrypted with the same key. This ensures that only those clientsconforming to the serial number system can read the email message.Additionally, the email system can be signed by a sender's signature toensure that it is not tampered with in transit. A receiving client candetect that the message has an embedded serial number and can active aprocessing operation. The client can, for instance, determine a user'sserial number and domain number using an address book look-up. If no CRCor Modulus check is established, it can be applied to the serial numberprior to processing. The details from the header can permit the clientto replace the selected text based upon bit flags value match up, beforethe email message is able to be viewed.

For example: a UserID can equal 25. (Binary format: 11001) and noCRC/Modulus-11 can be established. A user can receive the email messagederived from message 311 of system 100 and based upon the header of:

-   -   Over the last 20 years, IBM team members have remained committed        to a single mission: ensuring the success of customers who        depend on developing or deploying software. During those 20        years, we have taken the company through many stages as we lead        it to the next level, ahead of the market. The latest stage        began in 1997 when we exceeded our capabilities by purchasing a        number of leading tools companies in the software development        tools market, resulting in our product line. This strategy was        very successful and today we see many of our competitors        emulating it.

Assuming the above text is leaked, it can be compared against theoriginal message, shown in system 300 as message 311. In one embodimentthe serial number for the message can be generated visually and crossreferenced against the employee/domain. For example,

IBM Team Members 00001 exceeded 01000 purchasing 10000 Total 11001 = 25

Implementation specifics for the header-implemented example (above) arenot meant to constrain the scope of the invention, but to illustrate onepossible implementation scheme. Other implementation schemes andderivatives are contemplated.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method 400 for embedding a unique serialnumber into the content of an email for tracking information dispersionin accordance with an embodiment of the inventive arrangements disclosedherein. Method 400 can begin in step 410, where a user can write anemail they would like to send in an email client. In step 412, the usercan activate the process of embedding a serial number or serial numbersinto the email and configure the initial settings. The user can activatethe process of embedding the serial number or numbers in context withbutton 208 of system 200. The user can configure the initial settings incontext with dispersion tracking configuration 250 of system 200. Instep 414, the application can search the email content for replaceablewords and punctuation and can optionally display the results to theuser. The results can be displayed to the user in context withinformation dispersion tracking configuration 305 of system 300. Aconfigurable option to enable/disable search results of replaceablewords can be included in one embodiment of the invention. In step 416,the user can select a word to replace in the email content. Theapplication can already display the replaceable words differently toshow the user their options. In step 418, a list of substitution wordscan be retrieved and displayed to the user. In some embodiments, thesubstitution words can be synonyms retrieved from a thesaurus. In step420, the user can select a word or words to be used to substitute theword selected in step 416. In step 422, the system can determine if theuser is finished defining words to substitute in the email content.

If in step 422, the user is not completed, method 400 can return to step416, where the user can select another word for substitution in theemail content. If in step 422, the user is completed, method 400 cancontinue to step 424, where the user can optionally preview eachsubstitution in the email content before continuing. Previewing eachsubstitution can prevent substitutions from being allowed when theychange the meaning or the content or do not have a good enough fit inthe content. In this step, if the user chooses to preview eachsubstitution, the user can accept or reject each possible substitutionfor the email content. In step 426, the application can check to makesure enough serials can be generated by the words to be replaced tomatch the requested number of serials. In one embodiment, this checkingcan be performed dynamically “on the fly,” where a visual cue ispresented to a user (e.g., a status display element) that indicates ifenough words have been replaced to generate needed serials.

If in step 426, the application can not generate enough serials, method400 can alert the user and return to step 414, where the application cansearch the email content for replaceable words and punctuation anddisplays the results to the user. If in step 426, the application cangenerate enough serials, method 400 can continue to step 428 where amail header can be generated and attached to the mail that details thereplaced words and their locations. In step 430, the mail header andbody can be encrypted with a key only the receiving client or clientscan decrypt. A key can be any key usable for encryption. One suchexample can be a public key infrastructure (PKI) key. These keys aresplit into a public and private key, where a private key is kept and apublic key is distributed. When the keys are combined, they can allowthe decryption of encrypted data. In step 432, mails can be sent to eachperson on the mailing list with associated substitutions of the words tobe replaced.

The present invention may be realized in hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software. The present invention may berealized in a centralized fashion in one computer system, or in adistributed fashion where different elements are spread across severalinterconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system or otherapparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein issuited. A typical combination of hardware and software may be a generalpurpose computer system with a computer program that, when being loadedand executed, controls the computer system such that it carries out themethods described herein.

The present invention also may be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

This invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from thespirit or essential attributes thereof. Accordingly, reference should bemade to the following claims, rather than to the foregoingspecification, as indicating the scope of the invention.

1. A method of tracking email dispersion through content substitutioncomprising: identifying a set of at least two email receiving entitiesfor an email dispersion; identifying textual content of a body of anemail message for the email dispersion to the set of email receivingentities; programmatically determining a plurality of words withintextual content of the body of the email message, wherein each of thedetermined words have at least one synonym; generating a set ofreplacement words for each of the determined words, wherein each of thereplacement words is a synonym of the corresponding one of thedetermined words; for each different email message to be sent to aspecific one of the receiving entities, programmatically substituting atleast one replacement word for a corresponding one of the determinedwords to generate an entity specific message, wherein each entityspecific message contains a unique combination of substitutions in thebody of the entity specific message, so that no two entity specificmessage are identical; maintaining a record of which email receivingentities are associated with which entity specific message; andconveying the entity specific messages to the set of email receivingentities.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: generating aunique serial number for each of the entity specific messages, whereinsaid unique serial number is generated based on a mathematicalcalculation having variable for a position and a value of thereplacement words included in the email message body of the associatedentity specific message, wherein the maintaining step records aplurality of records, one for each of the entity specific messages,wherein each record comprises a unique identifier for the entityspecific message and comprises the unique number generated for theentity specific message.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said uniqueserial number comprises at least one of a cyclic redundancy code (CRC)value of a modulus checking value, which is able to be used to ensurepost conveyance modifications of the entity specific message have notbeen made.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining anumber of unique combinations for entity specific messages based upon atotal number of determined words and a total number of replacement wordsfor the determined words; comparing a number of identified emailreceiving entities against the determined number of unique combinations;when the comparing step determines that there are more identified emailreceiving entities than unique combinations, automatically increasing atleast one of a number of determined words within the textual content ofthe body of the email message and a number of replacement wordscontained within at least one set of replacement words; and repeatingthe comparing and increasing steps until there are more uniquecombinations than identified email receiving entities, at which pointthe method is able to proceed to the substituting, maintaining, andconveying steps.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein each email receivingentity is an email recipient having a unique email address.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein at least one email receiving entity comprisesa group of email receiving entities, said group comprising a pluralityof different email recipients, each of the different email recipientshaving a unique email address.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein eachreplacement word is manually selected by a user of a user interface froma set of presented possible word replacements.
 8. A method of claim 1,further comprising: inputting content from one of said conveyed entityspecific messages into a recipient discovery program; and a computingdevice executing the recipient discovery program to responsively producean identifier for the entity associated with the entity specificmessage.
 9. A method for generating a set of email messages, eachcontaining approximately the same content that has been slightly variedso that each generated email message is unique, said method comprising:identifying an email message containing textual content of a body of theemail message; determining a set of at least two recipients who are toreceive a unique variation of the identified email message; detecting aset of at least two words contained within the textual content of thebody of the email message, wherein each of the words of the set have atleast one synonym; for each detected word, assigning at least onereplacement word, wherein each of the replacement words is a synonym ofthe corresponding one of the words of the set; generating a set ofunique email messages, one associated with each recipient in thedetermined set of recipients, wherein each unique email message has aunique combination of detected word substitutions in a body of thecorresponding email message; for each generated email message,calculating a unique serial number based upon which replacement wordsare included in the body of the associated email message, wherein givena unique serial number and a formula used in the calculating step andgiven the textual content, the unique email message associated with theunique number is able to be automatically generated; sending said uniqueemail messages to associated recipients; and storing the unique serialnumber and an identifier for the associated recipient.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein said unique serial number comprises at least one of acyclic redundancy code (CRC) value of a modulus checking value, which isable to be used to ensure post conveyance modifications of the uniqueemail messages have not been made.
 11. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising: identifying content of one of the unique email messages;computing a serial number associated with the identified content; andquerying a storage space to determine a recipient associated with theserial number.
 12. The method of claim 9, is manually selected by a userof a user interface from a set of presented possible word replacements.13. The method of claim 9, wherein said steps of claim 9 are performedby at least one machine in accordance with at least one computer programstored in a computer readable media, said computer programming having aplurality of code sections that are executable by the at least onemachine.
 14. Software stored in at least one tangible storage medium andthat is able to be loaded, and executed by the computing systemcomprising hardware to control the computer system, said software fortracking email recipients using modified message content comprising: anoriginal word set comprising a plurality of words included within a bodyof an email message, which is referred to as an original message, saidsaid original message being digitally encoded in the tangible storagemedium communicatively linked to the computer system; a plurality ofsubstitution sets digitally encoded in the tangible storage medium, eachassociated with one of the plurality of words of the original word set,wherein each of the substitution sets comprises at least one synonym forthe associated original word; a serial number generator, which is partof said software that when executed by the computer system is operableto generate a plurality of unique serial numbers that are to beassociated with a unique variation of the original message, whereingiven a unique serial number and given the original message, the uniqueemail message associated with the unique serial number is able to beautomatically generated by an algorithm, wherein a number ofstatistically unique combinations of original words and associatedsubstantiation sets determines a number of unique serial numbers thatthe serial number generator is able to generate; and a unique messagegenerator, which is part of said software that when executed by thecomputer system is operable to receive the original message and a uniqueserial number as input and to generate a unique variation of theoriginal message as output, wherein each unique variation is an emailbody for an email message in which two or more of the words from theoriginal word set have been substituted with associated words of thesubstitution set, wherein the original word set and the substitutionsets are specified by digitally encoded data stored in a computerreadable media, and wherein serial number generator and the uniquemessage generator are software digitally encoded in a computer readablemedium executable by a computing device, which causes the computingdevice to perform a set of actions for which the serial number generatorand the unique message generator are configured.
 15. The software ofclaim 14, further comprising: a unique message decoder, which is part ofsaid software that when executed by the computer system is operable toreceive a unique variation of the original message as input and toautomatically determine the associated serial number based upon whichsubstitution words are contained within the unique variation, whereinthe unique message decoder is software digitally encoded in a computerreadable medium executable by a computing device, which causes thecomputing device to perform a set of actions for which the uniquemessage decoder is configured.
 16. The software of claim 15, furthercomprising: a serial number manager, which is part of said software thatwhen executed by the computer system is operable to automatically storerecords associating recipients with serial numbers; and a recipientdetermination engine, which is part of said software that when executedby the computer system is operable to determine from a serial numberdetermined by the unique message decoder and from associations managedby the serial number manager, a recipient identifier associated with aunique variation, wherein serial number manager and the recipientdetermination engine are software digitally encoded in a computerreadable medium executable by a computing device, which causes thecomputing device to perform a set of actions for which the serial numbermanager and the recipient determination engine are configured.
 17. Thesoftware of claim 14, further comprising: a user interface, which isgenerated by said software executing on the computer system, said userinterface being configured to permit a user to determine whether tocreate said unique variations that are associated with serial numberscreated by the serial number generator.
 18. The software of claim 17,wherein said user interface is an interface of an email application. 19.The software of claim 17, wherein said user interface automaticallysuggests a set of automatically determined synonyms for each of thewords of the word set, wherein the synonyms included in the substitutionsets are user approved ones of the suggested synonyms.
 20. The softwareof claim 16, further comprising: a user interface, which is generated bysaid software executing on the computer system, said user interfacebeing configured to permit a user to determine whether to create saidunique variations that are associated with serial numbers created by theserial number generator and further configured to permit a user to inputa unique variation, which is processed by the unique message decoder andthe recipient determination engine to determine a recipient to whom theunique variation is associated.